One
Championship has crowned its second ever heavyweight king.
The main event of the tape-delayed event One
Championship “Dangal” saw former
Ultimate Fighting Championship 205-pound and heavyweight
contender Brandon Vera
(16-9 1NC) put his title on the line against fellow UFC vet
Arjan Singh Bhullar (11-1). “The Truth” approached the battle
with a cautious gameplan as he kept scoring with his jab and
switching stances, as to not to offer any window for Bhullar to
showcase his wrestling skills. The Canadian fighter was satisfied
with keeping the center of the cage and throwing his jab early.
Shortly after the midpoint of the first frame, Bhullar faked a
punch before duping his opponent into a successful takedown that
led to the Canadian fighter keeping the top position for the rest
of the frame, completely unconcerned and unthreatened by Vera’s
kimura attempts from the bottom.
The defending champion looked quite fatigued entering into the
second stanza. Bhullar made the most of his opponent’s condition by
passing through the guard of “The Truth” with flashy punches. A
series of jabs from Bhullar opened the way to a heavy right
overhand that stunned Vera, who recovered from the shot but was
forced to back down with his back against the fence. Sensing that
his opponent was in imminent difficulty, Bhullar kept scoring with
his punches and shrugged off all Vera’s shots. One of the
Canadian’s punches reached the midsection of Vera, followed by an
immediate takedown attempt. Even though Vera grabbed the cage to
defend the attack, Bhullar completed the transition to the canvas
from where he mauled Vera with punches on the floor. The defending
champion attempted to bounce back to his feet, but Bhullar’s
wrestling turned out to be too much. After many unanswered shots,
the referee stepped in to stop the fight, declaring Bhullar the new
champion at the 4:27 mark in the second period.
The co-main event saw a beating from Tawanchai PK.Saenchai
Muaythaigym at the expense of Sean Clancy
in their muay Thai clash in One’s bantamweight division. Tawanchai
displayed once again his flawless technique at the hands and feet
of the former WBC muay Thai champion. The Thai fighter’s
lightning-fast left head kick heralded a tough night at the office
for Clancy. While the European fighter attempted his best to
contain his opponent’s furious offense in the opening round, he
could do nothing from the second frame forward. Tawanchai scored
with a variety of shots, including leaping elbows and left kicks.
The end of the contest came after the Thai fighter hit Clancy with
his signature left kick, dropping his opponent to the canvas and
forcing the referee to stop the fight. Tawanchai claimed the
victory after 35 seconds in the third stanza.
Elsewhere, Bi Nguyen
(6-6) edged Ritu Phogat
(4-1) on the judges’ scorecards with a narrow split decision. In
addition to today’s battle, “The Indian Tigress” also lost her spot
in the upcoming One Championship atomweight tournament, where she
was supposed to meet Meng Bo (16-5)
at One: Empower. As of publication time, the promotion didn’t offer
“Killher Bee” the spot that her opponent lost.
Ayaka Miura scores her SIXTH win via
scarf-hold Americana, forcing Rayane Bastos to tap in Round 1!
@ayk917m
#ONEDangal
#WeAreONE
#ONEChampionship pic.twitter.com/myzaMBi71t— ONE Championship (@ONEChampionship)
May 15, 2021
Earlier on the card, Ayaka Miura
(11-3 1NC) forced Rayane
Marques Bastos (4-1-1) to submit with a rare scarf hold armlock
that stopped the 128-pound catchweight tilt 2:58 into Round 1. The
event opened with a 143-pound catchweight clash that saw Gurdarshan
Mangat (16-3) outpoint Roshan
Mainam Luwang (6-3) via unanimous decision.